To illustrate the radiological manifestations of abdominal complications resulting from oncological treatment in an organ system-based approach.

During World War I (WWI), soldiers exposed to "mustard gas" were found to have toxic changes, especially in the skin and in the bone marrow cells. Exposed troops described the odour of this agent as a stench like mustard or garlic, hence its common name. At the same time, the US Army was studying several chemicals similar to mustard gas in order to develop more powerful weapons. In the course of that work, a nitrogenous derivative of mustard gas was first synthesized in the 1930s...

1) LIVER 1.1 Fatty liver Multiple cytotoxic agents such as 5-FU, platinum derivatives and taxanes can cause fatty liver. It is usually reversible if chemotherapy is discontinued (Fig. 1). Distribution of fatty liver disease can vary from diffuse infiltration to focal steatosis. Development of fatty liver is important to see on CT as this may alter hepatic function and future plans for surgical resection, especially patients who receive neoadjuvant therapy for metastatic liver disease. For example, in pre-operative chemotherapy with irinotecan for colorectal carcinoma (FOLFIRI),...

Radiologists must be aware of the spectrum of complications induced by classical chemotherapeutic and targeted therapies to provide an early diagnosis and enable treatment decisions.

Birch et al. Unintended Consequences of Systemic and Ablative Oncologic Therapy in the Abdomen and Pelvis. RadioGraphics 2018; 38:1158-1179. Ngo et al. Cancer therapy related complications in the liver, pancreas, and biliary system: an imaging perspective. Insights Imaging 2015; 6:665-677. Chang et al. Molecular and Clinical Approach to Intra-abdominal Adverse Effects of Targeted Cancer Therapies. RadioGraphics 2017; 37:1461-1482. Torrisi et al. CT findings of chemotherapy induced toxicity. Radiology 2011, 258:41-56. C. Viswanathan et al. Complications of oncological therapy in the GI system. Cancer Imaging 2012;...